When a taxpayer wants to challenge a tax reassessment, he must appeal to the Tax Court of Canada. However, for decisions made by the Canada Revenue Agency that are of a discretionary nature, the taxpayer must apply to the Federal Court for a judicial review of the exercise of that discretion. Under the Income Tax Act, judicial reviews take place principally in the context of taxpayer relief provisions.
It is important to note that a taxpayer cannot use an application for judicial review to indirectly challenge a tax reassessment, as the jurisdiction to decide on the correctness of a tax reassessment belongs to the Tax Court of Canada. In other words, a taxpayer cannot do indirectly what he cannot do directly.
Last updated: November 2, 2015
